Useless
by Greenx91
Summary: Robin used to always be considered a waste of space in this society where labor took part in everything, but that all changed one day when a young princess walks into his life, along with his childhood friend. Unexpectedly given the occupation of tactician, how will Robin handle his new life? AU
1. Intro

"Reflet? Can you come over here for a moment?"

Sitting on his throne, a blue-haired exalt called for his tactician. His throne was humble, but his security was enough to scare off anyone; two generals next to his left and right hand and another twenty-four knights facing each other across the red carpet leading to the country's leader.

His name is Chrom.

"Reflet?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. No need to repeat yourself."

A white-haired woman appeared in front of him. To the inattentive eye, she magically appeared before him, but the truth was that she slipped in between some guards. Her movements were quick and fluid. She always claimed her suspicious movements is merely her practicing her body in order to increase its efficiency on the battlefield. She has only ever been seen using magic tomes so the authenticity of this claim is unverified, especially since she is already quicker than most thieves.

Her name is Reflet.

Chrom smiled and raised a hand. "Ah, Reflet! Good morning."

"Good morning, Chrom," she said. Calling him by his name, one might expect that she would return the smile. She did no such thing. Her bond with him was close enough that she had no impulse to act courteously to him. She merely tilted her head back and forth, waiting for her leader to continue talking.

Chrome noticed her disinterested look and mannerism and pouted. "Judging by your childish mannerism, I presume you're not too keen on what I have to say next?"

Reflet returned the pout, as well as closed her eyes. "Well, if it's like any other day of the week, you're just going to ask me for the same old, same old. There's nothing to report on Plegia, Feroxi is still taking their sweet time to give us a response to our offer, and Lucina has reported no progress on handling any of Ylisse's current problems."

"I see. Have I become so predictable, these past couple of weeks?"

"Yes, but as your master tactician, I would have known either way." She finally smiled, showing the arrogance that lied beneath. This confidence is well earned, however, so no one has ever disliked her for her cockiness.

Chrom sighed and looked at Reflet for a few moments. "So… nothing from Lucina again? It's been three weeks since she and her, uh, Justice Cabal left, hasn't it? I expected great things from her, yet she hasn't achieved anything worth noting."

"Give her some time, Chrom. She's already surround by trustworthy friends who are more than capable of handling trouble. It's only a matter of her gaining experience in leadership. Besides, the task you expect of her is far beyond what you were doing before you met me. Taking down two groups degrading our land is a big job for someone who knows little to nothing about life outside the castle and its town."

"I suppose you're right." Chrom ran out of things to talk about and he waved his hand. "Sorry for bothering you. I'm just a nervous wreck right now. So much is going on, yet nothing is moving forward."

Reflet nodded to his statement. "Yes, I know what you mean. I've resorted to taking walks outside of town in order to refresh my mind with the fresh air. There's only so many plans I can formulate before my head begins to fry."

She turned and left normally this time. Making a surprise entrance and a calm exit was her style, both on and off the battlefield. As a result, many are comfortable with calling her the Caster of the Storm.

* * *

Many miles away from Ylisse's castle was a town. Here, there was an inn where a white-haired boy, about twenty years old, sweeping the floors.

Two people watched him sweep; the innkeepers. The innkeepers were an old married couple composed of the sweet old lady and the grumpy old man.

"When are we going to kick this kid out?" the husband muttered.

Shocked, the wife frowned viciously and whispered, "Now, don't be like that. He begged for this job. He needs the money. We're not even paying him half of what we give to our regular employees."

The old man scoffed. "Feh! He would if would stop lying about his condition. Brittle bones? Weak muscles? All excuses."

"Now, now, he warned us about these conditions beforehand. He agreed to be paid little for the little work he can do."

"And yet you keep slipping him a few more gold coins than agreed at the end of each day. We still need to pay the rent, y'know?"

"…"

The young adult heard every word. He was sweeping at the end of the hall so it was natural to presume that he wasn't close enough to hear them.

He held back a tear and said, "Only six days and I'm already a burden." He didn't bother whispering because he knew he was far away enough that most people wouldn't hear him talk. "Well, at least I have enough money to beg comfortably for at least a week and four days."

For a very long time now, he's been forced to wander the land, begging for charity or work. From early experience, this person learned how fragile he was. His bones split when hit moderately hard, his muscles became sore after mere minutes of use, and his energy would disappear if he dared to walk for even more than half an hour. There were, of course, many potions and medicine to temporarily fix and alleviate these ailments, but the prices were too high for him to afford.

At a time and age where almost everything is reliant on hard labor, this young man was considered useless by almost all who have met him.

His name is Robin.

The door to the inn opened and a girl of similar age entered. She had blue hair and wore relatively light armor with the same color.

"Pardon me," she said. "My friends and I need a place to sleep tonight and-"

"Oh, let me help you!" the old woman said. "How many rooms would you be needing?"

"Preferable twelve."

"T-twelve? That's an awful lot of rooms."

The woman was visibly concerned and the blue-haired girl asked "Do you not have that many open? If so, then I'm sure some of us can share a bed so to reduce the rooms."

"No, we have plenty of space," she quietly said. "I'm just not sure how I feel about a bunch of younglings staying together all at once, making a mess and a ruckus."

Her eyes widened and a sense of embarrassment reached her cheeks. "Oh no! I promise my comrades and I will be on our best behavior. I understand the concern. We usually set up a camp, but tonight we need our rests. It's… of great importance."

The old woman slowly nodded and pulled out a sheet. After the exchange of gold and service was made, the girl left to get her friends.

Her name is Lucina.

"Puh," the old man said, "Now he's not even sweeping. The kid is just taking ganders at guests now."

It was true. From the very moment the girl entered, Robin had not taken his attention off her, but this was not out of attraction. It was something much more grim than the perverted mind of a man.

(Is this town in danger?)

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Don't really know what the ultimate outline for this story is, but I've got ideas.**

 **I originally wanted to call this thing something like "Osteoporosis" or something, but "Useless" sounds better and is less likely to have an MD student correct me on what exactly it is and how muscles and energy has nothing to do with it.**

 **Btw, Robin/Lucina ship, just in case that wasn't obvious (it will be in a few chapters).**


	2. Old Friend

"Ah, finally! I comfy bed indoors!"

Severa, a girl with red-hair in pigtails, opened a door and threw herself onto the room's bed. The bedding was very low and the wafer-thin mattress was of poor quality, filled half and half of straws and feathers, but it may well have been a cloud to her. A euphoric feeling travelled down her spine.

"Three weeks without a bed is more than I could handle. Ah! I might even skip showering so I can spend more time on an actual bed!"

"Hey, now, don't get to comfortable," a brooding voice said.

Standing in her doorway was another with similar hair color to her, Gerome. He wore a mask that matched his black armor.

"I hope you haven't forgotten what we have to do tomorrow. We're only here to rest, not relax. We must keep our guards up if we are to succeed this time."

"Oh, quiet you!" she shouted. "Can't you let me have this moment to myself?"

"As I understand it, this is for all of us."

As more of their comrades were settling into their rooms, Gerome felt unease seeing all the door close.

"Tch. Still, even if I am grateful for tonight," he said, "it bothers me that so much money is being wasted here. We could have easily cut our costs by two-third if we all shared four rooms and slept sideways."

Sprawling her body out, Severa was clearly going to object. "Three people on a single bed? Are you mad!?"

"Not mad, just conscious. We still need to stock up on some vulneraries and possibly need to pay maintenance on our weapons."

"Our weapons haven't seen much use though," she quietly said. "Besides, why do we need vulneraries when we have Brady to heal us?"

"We can't rely solely on him for healing. There's only so much one man can do."

"Yeah, yeah," she said with her eyes closed. "Just get out of here before I sleep with my equipment on."

Bringing more noise to the party, a moody priest by the name of Brady appeared behind Gerome and said, "What's this I hear about me?"

Severa scowled as it appeared her beauty rest would have to be put aside for now. "Gerome was talking about cutting down on rooms so that we can have more money to buy vulneraries. You're clearly not living up to his expectations, Brady."

"What?!"

"I was just trying to make a point," Gerome muttered. He placed a fist onto his nose and forehead in an effort to suppress his anger. "I'm just saying we could have handled our money much better. It has nothing to do with you."

Brady didn't see it that way. "Hey, I know I'm a bit slow and all to get to everyone in a timely manner, but dat don't mean you've gotta go and make me obsolete." Brady took a glimpse inside the room and saw Severa lying down. "Besides, if you want to save money, stop letting Severa have a say in what we spend it on. Owain too, for that matter."

"Hey! I can understand Owain and his weapon craze, but matching armor is important for a group like ours! Sheesh! How do you ever expect people to recognize us if we look like a bunch of ugly losers rounding up to pretend like we're making a difference?"

The last statement held a bit of weight with it and no said anything.

Three weeks since they left the castle town to offer their skills to the land, but nothing had been accomplished. They had saved a few towns here and there from some brutes, but nothing else had been accomplished by them. Their current target had always been one step ahead of them, but now-

"Enough of this!" Gerome shouted. He turned and started walking away. "We'll truly make a difference tomorrow when the sun rises!"

Brady let out and deep breath followed. "I'd better hit the sack too. Don't sound like we have many vulneraries so I'll have to be well rested or something. Want me to close the door for ya?"

She nodded and the door shut.

"Geez… can we really do this tomorrow? We can't even handle a budget, so a group of con artists… ugh! They're not the same! What am I even doing? I better catch up on my beauty sleep as well. I just HAVE to make the most out of this room."

* * *

Back at the castle, Reflet was reading up on one of her books as old as dirt.

"Hm… the battles described in this book are all fantastic, but the ones with the archers are most interesting," she said to herself. "It always seems like the archers are _moving_ while shooting an arrow and still hit their intended targets. Looks like Virion is going to be working under me for a little bit next time he's here." A devilish grin came across her lips as she imagined Virion sweating and losing his composure. She snickered a tiny bit before going back to her reading. "Side tracked again. These walks outside just aren't doing it anymore. I need stimulation! A brain is like a muscle and I need to use these strategies in practice. Perhaps Chrom would let me recreate a battle outside? Hm, but an activity like that will cost us money and props. Geez… looks like it's time for another walk."

As soon as she told Chrom's most trusted knight Frederick where she would be, she left the castle and started jogging.

"Maybe a jog is what I need instead! Ah, the cool air of the night is so refreshing!"

* * *

Everyone had gone to sleep at the inn now. The owners left the place in charge with an employee of theirs. They told Robin to go home (which didn't exist) after he had finished sweeping and dusting the inn. It was past midnight when he finally finished.

"Curses," he muttered to himself. "If only I was faster. Looks like everyone's gone to sleep. I suppose I'll ask them in the morning, if I can."

Walking to the inn's entrance, he reimagined what he saw earlier: the young woman with blue hair who checked in.

He began thinking. (She had a brooch on that comes from the royal family. She also mentioned twelve rooms, didn't she? A small group, blue hair, and a brooch from the royal family… I'm having a hard time believing it, but she may be the new exalt's daughter. However, she seems to be very formidable and strong. It's possible she and the others may simply be a prodigious group on a mission.)

"See you tomorrow, John," he said to the night clerk.

"See ya, Robin. Be careful out there."

After Robin left, he began thinking once more. (A mission, huh? That would make plenty of sense. By the sounds of it, they're on pursuit of something or someone and they've predicted that this is the next target. Considering that they're spending the night here instead of a tent, they must be expecting a harsh battle tomorrow that will use most of their efforts. I… I wish them the best if that is the case.)

The town was getting darker. More and more torches were burning their last flames. The town was visually set back, but you could still make out some strange folks talking to themselves.

"It always ends like this doesn't it? You meet a cute girl and have a cup tea with them when suddenly a very large man called Dad appears and chases you away. Sigh. If only they would lend me an ear. Then they would know that I only have the purist of intentions and hand their daughters over to me. Maybe even-"

(That voice,) Robin thought, (and that love of girls! Could it be…?)

Not wanting to wait to find out, Robin did the obvious thing to do and shout out a name.

"Inigo!"

"-can hardly wait! I must-! Huh? Did someone just call my name?"

Hearing that, Robin shortly ran to him.

In front of Robin was a dashing mercenary with dark silver hair.

His name is Inigo.

"Robin? Ignoring the fact that your coughing up a lung, it's great to see you, friend!"

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Weird. I thought I wrote less here than in the first chapter.**

 **This is an AU where the events in Awakening happen years later and other stuff. This is mostly done to get rid of the time travel stuff while keeping the children characters.**

 **BTW, I haven't decided on parents, fathers of course. Some are good, so get in the way of the story, some I have no idea, so drop me some suggestions if anyone has any preferences. A lot of details aren't set, mostly plot, so suggest a few other things to.**

 **Thanks for the initial support. Throw in any critiques and I'll try to improve (especially during the coming battle).**


	3. Job Offer

After catching his breath, Robin stood up straight to look like he was fine. "Ah! Inihgo! Hai'm sohrprised to… ha… see you!"

"Alright now, take it easy. Let's go sit down, shall we?"

They went over to wooden bench next to a river and sat down. Inigo rested his arm on the bench and turned to Robin with a warm smile. "So, how's it been?! It's been a couple of years since we coincidentally met in North Ylisse, hasn't it? Still wandering the land?"

"What else is there for a person like me to do?" Robin dropped his head back and closed his eyes. "It's all too exhausting: Begging for money, searching for food, going to work where I'll eventually be kicked out for being a burden. It's all the same for me. How about you? I'm sure you've gotten into more interesting adventures than I have. You're a mercenary, after all."

"Maybe, but it's all hazy for me. There always seems to be a beautiful maiden waiting to be whisked away while I'm in the middle of a job, so I'm not even paid half of the time. It's more or less the same as when we were begging and working together as kids."

"You're still begging?" Robin asked.

"Oh no! Of course not. It's because of you that I could go out and make something of myself. Your help is not in vain."

"I see." A sense of relief came over him. He found comfort in knowing his dear friend was doing well. That's all he needed to push himself forward.

Inigo smiled and said, "Ha, speaking of making something of myself-"

"Hm?"

"-I no longer need to drift wherever to look for a gig. You see, I've actually been recruited by the royal family into their… justice cabal."

"Justice cabal?" he repeated, just to make sure he was hearing that right. "Wait a minute, the royal family? Are you saying the princess recruited you?"

Again, Inigo's smile bulged, as if it grew. "Yup! Quite the beauty too! Oh, but how did you know it was the princess?"

"An educated guess," Robin stated. He leaned forward and stared at the gravel under his feet. "I saw her and her group check into the inn I work at."

His smile grew a little bit more. "Ah, so you've seen her! Well, what do you think? A real cutie, isn't she?"

Robin raised an eyebrow. Most people would ignore questions like this, but Robin grew up with Inigo. He had answered this question enough times to not care and answer it anyway. He thought over it. "Hm, to be honest, I can't really say. I didn't really get a good look at her. I was too focused on her chest and her words to notice anything else, really."

"Chest, huh…?"

When Robin looked at Inigo, he was met with the biggest grin he had ever seen. Once Robin had realized what he had just said, he blushed and started shaking a fist at him. "Alright, quit it Inigo! More importantly, what's happening tomorrow?"

His smile disappeared. "Tomorrow?" he said, doing a poor impression of a man who has no idea.

"That's right. The princess mentioned that your group usually slept outside in tents. She said it was of great importance that everyone got their rest tonight. Every single one of your group were armed and ready to fight. It's only natural to expect a battle tomorrow. Inigo?"

Inigo started scratching the back of his head while he forced out some hollow chuckling. "A ha, battle? Tomorrow? Ha, ha, are you sure? We're just going to the extreme to celebrate Lucina's birthday!"

"Lucina? The princess? She didn't look too excited to me."

"Oh, well, she's always been like that. I consider it a duty of mine to make her smile every now and again. She really is too serious for her own good. She ought to be more like her family."

Robin ignored Inigo's muttering and went back to attacking the subject. "Lucina also didn't seem like she didn't want too much attention. I never heard her mention her title. If she's not involving the public, the celebration must be a private matter, yet I also see no signs of her father here."

Although most of the royal family was known, pictures were a scarce luxury in this world. Lucina and her sister's existence may be known, but their identities remained relatively unknown since they almost never left the castle. Chrom is an exception as he is king and because a man named Frederic made sure no one would ever confuse someone else for Chrom again and scattered photos of him everywhere.

"Admit it, Inigo! A battle is going to happen, so tell me when and where!"

"So what if we are?" Inigo asked. "What does it matter to you? I've survived with you. You know how to escape dangerous situations like mouse in a crowded room."

"That's not the point," Robin said, frowning, "I just need to know that I can…"

Inigo moved in closer to Robin. "So you can…?"

Pressured for an answer, Robin clenched his teeth and searched for an appropriate response. "So that I can… do nothing, I suppose." He found nothing and gave up. A deep sigh got out of him as him dropped his head and despaired. "There really is nothing I can do, is there?"

Inigo stood up and stretched his arm. He yawned and groaned. "It's getting awfully late. Hey, quit moping around Robin. You're starting to remind me a bit of Lucina right now. Smile, alright? Things will get better tomorrow!"

"You're still insisting that there's no battle tomorrow?" he muttered.

"No, you're right," Inigo said. "There's someone coming tomorrow."

"Then how do- aaaaaahhhh!"

A strong slap went across his back and Robin sat up straight to lessen the pain somewhat.

"Everything will be fine because I'm making you our new tactician!"

"What!?" Robin shouted. It almost sounded like hearing the news was more painful than being hit on the back.

Prepared with an explanation, Inigo immediately began talking. "Listen, these past weeks, we've been an embarrassment. At least, that's how we see ourselves. We're awfully clumsy, we handle our funds like a hot potato, and our battle formations are basic and predictable. We've all taken turns playing the part of tactician and right now, I'm allegedly the best candidate. I don't think I have to explain that it's thanks to you why that is."

"Yes, but- rmmph!"

Inigo covered Robin's mouth with a cupped hand and continued. "I know what you'll probably say: That you have no right to take responsibility of anyone's life, but think about it, Robin! You can finally get away from this life of begging and wandering! I'm just trying to return the favor; The same to what you did to help me become a mercenary."

Robin pushed Inigo's hand away. "That's all very nice, but I can't!" Robin shouted. Tactician? Him? "I'm glad you're doing the best over there, but you can't say it's thanks to me. I know I gave you some direction in the few fights you got into with some bad folks trying to rob us, but I hardly think that's enough to turn me into the tactician of over a dozen people."

"It's not just that," Inigo said. "You're awfully… good when it comes to analyzing people, Robin."

Robin pouted and gave an explanation. "All I ever do is watch the world go by. I can't do a whole lot of work, so it's only natural I keep a close eye on all the details of my surrounding."

"In any case, come with me and we'll sleep in my room. You can think over it tonight. You'll have to sneak in the window, though. I don't want any girls to think I'm… not interested with them."

"I-"

Just as Robin began to protest again, Inigo looked him dead in the eye.

"Let me repay you, Robin."

Robin saw the look in his eyes and nodded.

"I… I understand."

It would be difficult to change his mind when he got like this. Robin accepted the invitation and went on ahead to sneak into the room through the window. As Inigo watched go ahead of him, Inigo frowned.

(Robin. The moment I saw Reflet and heard of how they found her lying in a field with no memories, I've wondered if there was any connection between you two. Maybe it's fate that's lead me to find you.)

* * *

Reflet, the white-haired tactician Inigo was thinking of, got into her room and pulled out a map. She looked at the south area of Ylisse and stared at the circle she had written there.

(It's odd,) she thought. (Bartre the Foreseer and his gang essentially rob towns out of their money, so why is he going to this town down south? It's the only town for miles and it has no tales of wealth.)

She looked out her window and stared where the sun would be if it was sunrise.

"Tomorrow is the day," she said. "I hope Lucina doesn't do too bad. I really want to know if this 'foreseer' is what he claims to be…"

* * *

 **A/N**

 **First off, sorry it took a week to get this up. This chapter was halfway done a week ago but I didn't finish it until now. Mario Maker is a bit more fun than I expected it to be. I also had a 50 hour work week and am preparing to go to school again for the fall quarter, but it's really Mario Maker that was eating my time.**

 **Recently playing FE7. Bartre never turns into a good unit for me in FE7. He's always the guy I have to keep a close eye on or else he'll get killed by a random mook. Dorcas isn't that great either, but he always manages to have okay speed when I use him. My frustration with Bartre, however, is what has made me give this guy this name.**

 **Inigo seems like most 'real' out of all the characters in Awakening to me. He feels like the type of friend everyone has, like the unintentionally cool guy or the trying-way-too-hard-to-be-quirky/weird friend. Part of the reason why he has the role of childhood-ish friend.**

 **I got my first and last figma Lucina. Let me tell you, this thing gave me hours of laughs. So much funny doing these ridiculous poses and interactions with her. Too bad most other figma are about weird anime girls I don't know or care about. Plus, it looks like Lucina is the only one properly dressed. Good on you for wearing clothes, Lucina. Good on _everyone_ for wearing clothes.**


	4. Group Examination

"Is this him?" Severa asked. "He looks kinda… plain."

It was early in the morning and Robin had only been awake for half an hour before being thrown outside the inn and into a small army. He was huddled around ten of them, with Lucina and her right-hand man Gerome being the only ones gone.

(How did I let Inigo talk me into this?)

He nervously stood there, gazing at their eyes, waiting what their judgement would be. He was barely doing anything and he already felt like his body was going to break down and hit the floor as a result of all the pressure getting into him. His body almost burst from the shock he got when a girl in heavy armor suddenly grabbed his arm and began squeezing it with a thumb and a finger.

"He also doesn't look or feel like the type to be in a war," said the girl named Kjelle.

She continued squeezing his arm, testing his elasticity of his muscle and skin.

(Ye gods!) Robin resisted to show any pain. (What is this girl!? I don't remember my arm being _this_ weak! Is this the armor or just brute strength?!)

He continued trying to endure the pain, but those who knew of Kjelle's strength already knew what Robin was feeling right now.

"Hey, let 'im go," Brady said. "That hand of yours can crush rocks into pebbles. I don't want to have to heal someone outside the battlefield."

Inigo also intervened. "Ah, yes, you really should stop, Kjelle, especially with Robin. There's something you guys didn't let me mention before you all ambushed Robin and- Let the poor boy go!"

Robin was visibly on the edge of fainting before Kjelle finally let go.

"Sorry." She took a step back. "It's just… there's something odd about his muscles. It's like Brady's but… different."

"Don't be using me as a synonym for weak," the healer muttered.

A blue-haired girl's eyes widened. "Oh! Weak! So that's what she means when she says 'like Brady'."

"Y'see? Now it's spreading! I better not be hearing that terminology going public."

Nervous laughter began to leak out of Inigo. "Ah ha, can we get back to Robin now? As I was about to say, Robin is not your typical person. He has a bit of a condition, see?"

A humanoid figure in the back panicked. "You're going to have a nutcase lead us?"

"No. Robin is quite sane. He's also brilliant when it comes to surveying his surrounding, and more so when it comes to people. He just a condition with his muscles. He gets injured quite easily so… he won't be doing much fighting at all."

After he said that, the temperature felt like it dropped off a cliff. Immediately, everyone felt ready to leave. Robin especially wanted to go.

(I… I don't think I can handle much more.)

Breaking the ice, as per usual, was Severa. "So, what? Are you trying to pawn a freeloader onto us? Give us a break, Inigo. You've only been with us for a little while and now you want us to bring your little friend along with us?"

Kjelle was also visibly annoyed. "Not fighting? You want him to just laze around and point his fingers everywhere, not doing a thing, while we're risking our lives? Why would you even consider bringing him with us?"

(I… I definitely can't handle this.)

The accusations. The hate. All his life, he's been accused of being a waste. A freeloading, lazy, uncaring and inconsiderate waste. He explains his conditions, but no one cares. In some cases, he's even told to go to the doctor to have it confirmed. This was not advice or even a suggestion. The sick who go to doctors almost never come back.

His heavy heart had finally convinced him it was time to go. Robin took a step, but he was grabbed.

"Stay," Inigo said to him.

He reluctantly did so and a breath of exhaustion got out.

Confirming that Robin wasn't going to leave, Inigo smiled. He soon took a deep breath before turning his head to the group. He frowned.

"To answer your question, Kjelle," he said, still holding onto Robin, "I've got plenty of reasons to bring Robin with us, but I will only tell you the relevant reason. It's because of Robin that I am even here today. I don't want to go too much into my past, but a long time ago, I walked out of an orphanage. Robin followed along, concerned for my safety. At first, I considered him something of a nuisance, but… the world is awfully dangerous place. Lots of misbehaving people out there. Most tried to rob us, others tried to literally rob us, and some just wanted a bloodstain on their new weapon. It's because of Robin though that I'm still here. That we're _both_ here. It might sound like I'm exaggerating about fighting off four men at once, but it's true. I can't tell you how I did it, but I know I did. A finger guiding me knows what happen. If it's Robin's finger guiding me and his voice of reason advising me, I will do what he hopes will happen and I suggest you all do the same. All Robin does is watch people. Who better to guide us in a battle between people?"

After all was said and done, Inigo waited for a response. Severa responded with an accusation.

"You had that speech prepared."

"Absolutely correct! My point still stands."

A frail archer in the back raised her hand. "If this person was able to help you so much, I'd be willing to give him a chance… for a little while."

"And if he can also teach me how to fend off four marauding villains using nothing more than my bare hands," a blonde in the back said, "than I too will give our inexperience tactician a chance to lead us to a glorious victory in the battle against good and evil!"

With two people supporting Robin already, it seemed like the rest would follow suit, but no one else said anything.

Inigo overlooked their faces. (Looks like my sob story didn't turn too many heads.) Inigo glanced over to Robin to see how he was doing. Robin seemed to be deep in shock.

Kjelle took another look at Robin. "I don't know. He still sounds like he won't be doing much."

Robin broke out of his thoughts. (No, no! I have to keep this going!)

It was only two people and it was all he needed to give him that boost that he desperately needed. Going so long without anybody to help you can make you desperate sometimes.

"Well, it's not like I'm incompetent or anything," Robin said. "I can clean, I can learn to cook, I can… lift a chair. Not a table, not at all, but I can move _some_ stuff under a certain weight. As for fighting, Inigo didn't mention this but before we parted ways, I got a thunder tome. I don't anymore more, but I know a slight amount of magic."

(Thunder tome?) Inigo thought. An idea popped up in his head. He cleared his throat and loudly said, "Yes, thunder. Not **wind,** but thunder."

Robin gave Inigo a funny look, not noticing the effect his words have caused.

(Wind?)

(Wind?)

(Why did he say that?)

(Wait a minute…)

(White hair isn't common, but-)

(White hair?)

(And an orphan?)

(Is this guy…?)

(Is he related to her?)

(Reflet?)

(Reflet?)

(Reflet…?)

(Then maybe…)

One by one, they all started making connections to Robin and another tactician they all knew very well. They went from confused to intrigue.

"I'll give him a chance…" Severa muttered.

"I think I will too?"

"I suppose there is some merit in him."

Robin slowly turned his head to see them all slowly announce their reluctant acceptance.

(They don't look too happy,) he noted, (I'll probably be kicked out soon. I'm used to that feeling. Being taken in and then left out. I should probably refuse, but… I shouldn't let Inigo's efforts go in vain.)

Expecting to be hurt, Robin also didn't seem to happy, but he also didn't look as bothered as before.

"Excelent!" Inigo began walking away. "Then I'll go look for Lucina and then that's that. We'll make it official. Robin, come with!"

"Huh? Yes, of course."

He awkwardly followed Inigo, trying his best to avoid eye contact with any of the others.

(This is also a pretty high up job. I wonder if I'll be all right if the princess actually accepts me into their army.)

As they disappeared, Severa spoke. "You guys think this guy and Reflet are-?"

"Related?" a little girl said. "Perhaps, but is it really possible?"

"Besides, is that enough reason to hire him? Is tactical intelligence something you can inherent genetically?" Yarne said.

The archer spoke up. "Inigo said he watches people and that he kept the two alive. It reminds me of Reflet."

"We'll just have to wait and see what our fair leader says. Then, and only then, will we see for ourselves the true measure of his abilities in the heat of battle," the blonde said.

Most of them nodded. They parted ways, continuing their preparations for the fight.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hey! School started and I ironically have more time to write! Update rate won't change though since most of that extra time will be for homework and my other writings.**

 **Next chapter should be the last one before a battle, which is stupid. I was pretty sure I was going to make the first chapter have a battle but it somehow turned into something else. Ah well.**

 **Looking back at this chapter, I think I see why I don't like to write non-humor fanfiction. I never put my full talent since this is, well, fanfiction. Editing is also my worst quality (which is why I gave myself this extra time during school). Still, I can't help but feel bleh about the lower quality I'm putting out here. I'll edit it _a little bit_ after I post the next chapter.**

 **First week of college classes are the worst. Three syllabuses and all to explain some slightly differing expectations and policy.**


	5. An Excell-ant Beginning

While Inigo and Robin went to find the junior sheperd's leader, another group were coming their way. These were the people they were expecting to fight soon. It was a small group, but larger than theirs. 12 men traveled on foot in light armor, 8 men rode on horses, 2 of which carried a litter with a person hiding behind some curtains. In addition, there was one more person travelling with them. A short, middle aged man with short black hair, unnecessarily long fingernails, and large red lips travelled with them. He was also a bit round, but his crude expressions show a man who would rather beat a person than eat a ham.

This man's name is Excellus. He is the tactician of this brigade and the right-hand man to their leader, Bartre.

"Excellus!" the man inside the litter called. "Come over here at once!"

Excellus was one of the men holding their packs of supplies. A pack mule would hinder movement and Excellus did not have enough respect to be excused from his extra chore. He was near the back so he needed to scuttle with all his might to catch up to the litter.

He prepared his false confidence and put on a wide smiled. He said, "You called?"

The man called Bartre replied. "We are about to arrive to the town, correct?"

"That is correct. We should arrive there within the hour."

"I see. Do you suppose we should change that?"

"What?" It took a moment before Excellus realized what he meant. "Oh. Do you see something happening?"

For the last few months, rumors had been spreading around Plegia and Ylisse about a man who could 'foresee' the future. As many have testified, a mysterious foreseer will visit a town and advertise his ability. For the exchange of some money, he will tell you of your future. Often vague, but he will tell you. There are, of course, skeptics to this kind of thing. Very often, 'non-believers' would be beaten and sometimes killed. However, nowadays, entire towns have been requesting Bartre leave upon coming. In these cases, entire towns have been attacked and robbed. They leave, but before they do, Bartre will shout out the town's future, "Crushed under the feet of destruction." Even if you comply and pay him for your future to be told, he will only tell you the dark side. "I tell you the ugly truth so that you can do something about it," he claims. Infidelity, deception, betrayal are all things people are told about. If the person truly believes him, a murder will often occur the next day.

Attacking towns, forcing people to pay for their fortune to be told, and causing mistrust is enough reason to stop him. This much is true. What might not be true is his power to see in the future. There is a significant number of people stating that their spouse truly did leave them or that their friend really did steal their livestock. There are those, like his brigade, that truly believe he can see the future. There are also those, like Excellus, who believe he is a fraud who gets lucky making accurate deductions.

In the end, no one knows.

"Yes, I do see something," the alleged fortune teller said. "I see… a smaller group than ours attacking us near the town."

Excellus rolled his eyes. He quickly looked interested when he saw Bartre's escorts starin at him. "Is that so? Well? Do we win?" he said with odd enthusiasm.

"No," he said. "They looked prepared in my vision. They are expecting us."

"Not too surprising." Excellus pulled out a small map from a bag he had, hanging from his arm. "This town is practically by itself and it took us a week's trip to arrive. Somebody probably saw us head in this direction and reported it to the exalt."

"The exalt? In my vision, I only saw youngsters coming after us. Mm, but thinking back to it, a couple of them did have blue hair like exalt. A junior squad, perhaps?"

"Junior squad? You're saying we're going to be taken down by a bunch of brats?"

"They are prepared," Bartre said. "It's not a total surprise. In any case, I'm more concerned for the fact that we lost despite having more units. Do they have a brilliant strategy or do I have a terrible strategists?"

Excellus sighed as he got the hint. "I'll do the best I can."

"And remember I also have a target I'd like to specifically have removed."

"Yes, yes, no need to go on about that again.

He surveyed his surroundings.

 _(Let's see here… what plan will satisfy this scum? Rob the town, but also let Bartre look for the fool he wants to kill. Since we're being expected, we'll probably have to fight through this bloody mess. Personally, if it were up to me, get rid of these supplies on me and make everyone walk around the town to attack it from behind, but I don't think much will change if Bartre's prediction is correct. Not only that, but we'll be giving more time to the enemy. It's still early in the morning, so maybe they are not ready? In that case, simply going faster wouldn't be a bad thing, aside from my aching body carrying around these supplies. Ugh, but what then? They'll surely go after Bartre and if he dies, I'll be the one these morons will blame! Wait a minute…)_

Excellus smiled and raised a finger.

"I believe I have a plan."

* * *

Lucina and Gerome were currently discussing Robin's attendance. Inigo had given his sob story and Robin meekly agreed that he should _maybe_ join them to guide them, despite the lack of experience.

"I will follow your orders until the bitter end," Gerome said, "but I must ask you to consider our lives first. I concede that we desperately need a tactician, but that is no reason to bring the first person we're presented. Friends of Inigo is all I needed to hear to know he was just bringing along a buddy keep him company."

Lucina sighed and shook her head. "I know Inigo is a bit of a bother, but he really is a good person, Gerome. I don't think he would bother us with something like a freeloader."

"Maybe so, but my other point stands."

Lucina frowned and thought back to a person at the castle. "It's also… he reminds of Reflet. He _really_ reminds me of Reflet."

"At least we can agree on that…" Gerome looked down at the ground before shaking his head and looking back at Lucina. "However, even if they were… estranged relatives, skills are not hereditary."

Her eyebrows raised and in a curious voice, she asked, "Are they really not?"

He looked taken back by the question. "Um, well… I wonder… I suppose a skill or two can be passed down."

"In any case, I believe we should give him a chance. My father has been known to recruit anybody who has the courage to fight with him, from noble to farm boy. I believe we should follow his method and give Robin a chance."

"I'd like to say that habit picked up after he found Reflet lying on a grassy field, but the quality of his personal army is far beyond ours…" He tilted his head up and looked at the clouds for a moment.

"So we'll give him a chance, correct?"

"One chance, like the rest of us. If he wants to play tactician, he should at least be cleverer than Inigo and Laurent."

"That doesn't like a very difficult task," she noted.

* * *

Inigo and Robin were back to sitting at the bench where they talked last night. They stared at the calm brook going through town, quietly wondering to themselves what will happen soon.

"So," Robin said. He was shaking a bit despite the temperature being relatively warm. "Do you think they'll accept me?"

"Sure they will!" Inigo showed him a smile to show just how sure he was.

Robin nodded, but it went unnoticed since he was shivering. "There's also supposed to be someone you are all expecting to fight soon?"

"Yes. Bartre. A con artist who claims he's a fortune teller and a bully if no one believes him. I already explained a bit in the morning, didn't I?"

"Well, yes, but…" He stopped feeling cold. "Wait, you're all expecting him, right? Is it because this town is essentially in the middle of nowhere? Now that I think about it, there was enough time for you all to come here before Bartre did. He must have been coming from the east, while you and the others came from the north, I assume?"

"That's right," Inigo said.

"Do you know why he's coming here?"

"Why?" Inigo repeated. "Why, for the same reason of course! Right? Or are you saying there was…?"

"An ulterior motive? Yes. There other noteworthy towns around that Bartre could rob and hide through. Other than fields of dead grass, there's nothing east of this town. He should be aware that he's a wanted man so why come to this town from the east?"

"If what you are saying is true, he must have been trying to come here without delay."

"It also means there's a chance he's expecting an ambush," he said. Robin was stroking his chin now and it looked like he had forgotten all about his worries. "I know you're all planning to encounter Bartre and his men outside of town, but I'm having doubts this is going to be the case. Most likely, they're setting up a plan to ambush us right now."

Inigo broke out of his concentration to Robin when he heard a certain word said. A wider smile appeared. "Ambush _us,_ huh?"

Likewise, Robin broke out of his concentration and began to question his role in all of this mess. "What? Did I say that? I mean-"

"No need to say anything, Robin!" Inigo stood up, which Robin did as well. "Listen, Laurent calculated some numbers for us and said Bartre and his men would arrive around this time, but if they're trying to ambush us, we'll have to warn the others and brace ourselves."

"We completely agree," a female voice said.

The voice came from their right. There, they saw Gerome and Lucina, side by side, holding their weapons in hand.

Inigo smiled and waved his hand to them. "Ah! Lucina and Gerome! Did you hear the whole thing?"

"Not entirely," Lucina said, "but I understood the gist. I came here to say that I've considered taking Robin with us-"

"You hear that Robin?!" he shouted.

"-but only if he proves he has the talent to govern us on the battlefield. Unfortunately, that will have to be right now."

Gerome nodded and stepped closer. "We just saw some suspicious men running through a distant alley. They looked armed and dangerous. Robin."

Robin jolted at the harsh mention of his name.

"You deduced Bartre hoping to ambush us, but do you have the thinking power to keep us alive and well?"

Robin gulped as he looked around his head for an answer. "Er… yes?"

Gerome wore a mask, but you could tell his eye twitched. "You don't know? That sort of discomfort and reluctance will kill us, I'll have you know."

"I mean yes," he said in a sterner voice.

"You still _feel_ like you're hesitant, but we have no choice now. I think I see a group arriving at the town entrance."

Indeed, haggard men on foot and horses were arriving. Two of them were carrying a person hiding behind the curtains.

Lucina fixed her grip on her rapier. "We act now, Robin. You too, Inigo. Let's meet with the others and ready ourselves.

She turned around and left, with Gerome following behind, as well as Inigo. For a moment, Robin was alone and considered staying at that spot, but ultimately left as well.

* * *

Bartre was in the town now.

"I don't know where you are, white-haired boy, but an unnatural being with no future like you can't be left alive."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **I'm going to do some quality control on the last few chapters and then write the next chappie-chap, so expect another two weeks or so for it. I don't usually put my A-game into a guilty pleasure like fanfiction, so editing this thing is a must.**

 **Too much homework. Don't even have the time to apply for a new job. I've woken up at 5am, every day, for the last 3-4 weeks and it's really affecting me in terms of energy.**

 **Gerome/Lucina seems like the kind of vanilla pairing that makes it look like they're a good ship, but I just don't see it being very interesting. They have similar personalities, which is always a plus in any relationship, but I just don't see two serious people having a good time when they're trying to be romantic.**

 **Reflet, Robin, and now Excellus? I wonder if we'll find any other tacticians throughout this story of stuff and somethings...**


End file.
